Evangelist Robert (Bob) Larson
Evangelist Robert (Bob) Larson, is an American radio and television evangelist, currently based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Larson has authored numerous books on the subjects of rock music and Satanism, written from a Christian perspective. 'Life and career' Larson was born in Westwood, California, the son of Viola (née Baum) and Earl Larson.[1][2] He was raised in McCook, Nebraska.[1] Larson plays guitar; he has claimed his early experiences as a musician led to his concerns about occult and destructive influences in rock music.[3] He would later incorporate his guitar playing into some of his sermons. In the 1960s, the focus of Larson's preaching centered mainly on the leftist political ideology, sexually suggestive lyrics, Eastern religious mysticism, and antisocial behavior of many of the era's rock musicians. 'Debates with Satanists' During the late 1980s and into the 1990s, Bob Larson repeatedly debated, interviewed, and confronted Satanists, during the period known as the Satanic panic. On two separate occasions he hosted Nikolas Schreck' '(a gothic rock musician) and Zeena Lavey (once the spokesperson for the Church of Satan and later a priestess in the Temple of Set).' '''During their first encounter the pair defended Satanism, while in 1997, during their second appearance, they defended Setianism.' Larson debated the pair, and at times attempted to convert them without success. ' "Talk Back"'' with Bob Larson In 1982, Larson launched "Talk Back", a two-hour weekday call-in show geared mainly toward teenagers and frequently focused on teen-oriented topics such as role-playing games and rock music. By this time Larson had come to embrace contemporary Christian music, including styles such as heavy metal and rap, and actively promoted the music and artists on his show. By the late 1980s, in what would come to define his later ministry, Larson was often heard performing exorcisms of callers on the air. The subjects of Satanism and Satanic ritual abuse were frequent topics of discussion. Death metal performer Glen Benton of Deicide became a regular caller. Larson tried his hand at writing fiction: Dead Air (1991) was largely ghost-written by Lori Boespflug and Muriel Olson. His later novels Abaddon (1993) and The Senator's Agenda both linked Satanic ritual abuse to political corruption; the latter was largely written by Larson and his second wife. However, a former vice president of BLM (Bob Larson Ministries), Lori Boespflug, claimed that much of Dead Air, though presented as Larson's work, is actually her own. Supporting these claims is a letter from Larson's lawyer that warns Larson of his "potential liability to Lori", anticipating that "the role Lori has played" would lead her to "demand recognition and/or profit participation" in respect to Dead Air and its sequels.[3] In 2004, Larson returned to the radio airwaves after a two-year absence with a daily talk show heard on a network of radio stations and simulcast and archived on the Internet. Today, Larson remains active. His ministry professes to offer an alternative counseling outlet to people who have problems with violence, self mutilation, multiple personality disorders, Satanic ritual abuse, or molestation. 'Bibliography' *''Rock & Roll: The Devil's Diversion'' (Creation House, 1967) *''Hippies, Hindus, and Rock & Roll'' (Creation House, 1969) *''Rock & the Church'' (Creation House, 1971) *''The Day Music Died'' (Creation House, 1972) ISBN 0-88419-030-7 *''Hell on Earth'' (Creation House, 1974) ISBN 0-88419-072-2 *''Babylon Reborn'' (Creation House, 1976) ISBN 0-88419-006-4 *''Rock, Practical Help for Those Who Listen to the Words and Don't like What They Hear'' (Tyndale, 1980) ISBN 0-8423-5685-1 *''Larson's Book of Cults'' (Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Ill, 1982) ISBN 0-8423-2104-7 *''Larson's Book of Family Issues'' (Tyndale, 1986) ISBN 0-8423-2459-3 *''Strange Cults in America'' (Tyndale, 1986) ISBN 0-8423-6675-X *''Larson's Book of Rock'' (Tyndale, 1987) ISBN 0-8423-5687-8 *''Your Kids and Rock'' (Tyndale, 1988) ISBN 0-8423-8611-4 *''Satanism: the Seduction of America's Youth'' (Lightning Source, 1989) ISBN 0-8407-3034-9 *''Straight Answers on the New Age'' (Thomas Nelson, 1989) ISBN 0-8407-3032-2 *''Tough Talk About Tough Issues'' (Tyndale, 1989) ISBN 0-8423-7297-0 *''Larson's New Book of Cults'' (Tyndale, 1989) ISBN 0-8423-2860-2 *''Dead Air: A Novel'' (Thomas Nelson, 1991) ISBN 0-8407-7638-1 *''Abaddon: A Novel'' (Thomas Nelson, 1993) ISBN 0-8407-7796-5 *''The Senator's Agenda'' (Thomas Nelson, 1995) ISBN 0-7852-7879-6 *''In The Name of Satan: How the Forces of Evil Work and What You Can Do to Defeat Them'' (Thomas Nelson, 1996) ISBN 0-7852-7881-8 *''UFO's and the Alien Agenda'' (Thomas Nelson, 1997) ISBN 0-7852-7182-1 *''Extreme Evil: Kids Killing Kids'' (Nelson Reference, 1999) ISBN 0-7852-6870-7 *''Larson's Book of Spiritual Warfare'' (Nelson, 1999) ISBN 0-7852-6985-1 *''Shock Talk: The Exorcist Files'' (WestBow, 2001) ISBN 0-7852-7009-4 'See also' *''Larson's Book of World Religions and Alternative Spirituality'' *''John Safran vs God'' *''John Safran'' *''Jack Chick'' 'References' #^ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Larson#cite_ref-hcr_0-0 a''] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Larson#cite_ref-hcr_0-1 ''b] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Larson#cite_ref-hcr_0-2 c''] Melton, J. Gordon (1999). ''Religious leaders of America: a biographical guide to founders and leaders of religious bodies, churches, and spiritual groups in North America. Gale Research. pp. 321. ISBN 0810388782. #^ "Personals". McCook Daily Gazette. 1998-01-13. pp. 4. Retrieved 2010-09-20. #^ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Larson#cite_ref-Cornerstone_2-0 a''] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Larson#cite_ref-Cornerstone_2-1 ''b] Jon Trott (1993). "Bob Larson's Ministry Under Scrutiny". Cornerstone 21 (100): 18, 37, 41–42. ISSN 0275-2743. Retrieved 2006-06-08. #^ "The First Family of Satanism". 1989. #^ "Showdown with Satanism". 1997. 'External links' *Bob Larson's official website *Bob Larson at the Internet Movie Database *Cornerstone Magazine article critical of Larson *Analysis of Larson's teachings and history *Charity Navigator rating for Bob Larson Ministries *The Devil is in the Details: An Examination of the Teachings of Bob Larson Category:Paranormal Clergy Category:Exorcists Category:Exorcism Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:Ra